Major consumer companies including Unilever, Procter & Gamble and Nestle are chasing consumers who want food and household goods delivered automatically, even though this kind of business has not always worked. The companies are pitching new online subscription services, which promise stable revenues, lower delivery costs and valuable data about customers. The world's biggest packaged food company, Nestle, whose Nespresso coffee is already a sizeable subscription business, recently launched a subscription programme for nutritional drinks in Japan and expanded ReadyRefresh, an online bottled water service, in the United States.

Major consumer companies including Unilever (ULVR.L), Procter & Gamble (PG.N) and Nestle (NESN.S) are chasing consumers who want food and household goods delivered automatically, even though this kind of business has not always worked. The companies are pitching new online subscription services, which promise stable revenues, lower delivery costs and valuable data about customers. The world's biggest packaged food company, Nestle, whose Nespresso coffee is already a sizeable subscription business, recently launched a subscription program for nutritional drinks in Japan and expanded ReadyRefresh, an online bottled water service, in the United States.

Hong Kong-listed L’Occitane agreed to buy Elemis from Steiner Leisure Ltd., a portfolio company of private equity firm L Catterton that focuses on consumer investments. L’Occitane said the acquisition will bolster the group’s growth globally, with plans to bring the Elemis label into new markets. Shares of L’Occitane fell 4.7 percent Monday, a day after the deal was announced, narrowing the stock’s single-digit growth this year.

Dependable dividend stocks that routinely grow their payouts are welcome in any environment. But they seem especially attractive nowadays.
Stock market volatility is back with a vengeance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went from powering ahead to an all-time high of 26,828 on Oct. 3 to losing 8% in the span of about three weeks. These kinds of rocky markets tend to give investors motion sickness. But they can add a dose of Dramamine to their portfolios - in the form of reliable dividend-growth stocks.
"Dividend growers, which tend to be quality companies, have generally shown greater resilience in unsteady markets and could address concerns about dividend stocks in a rising-rate environment," write Tianyin Cheng, director of strategy and ESG Indices at S&P; Dow Jones Indices; and Vinit Srivastava, head of strategy and ESG indices at S&P; Dow Jones Indices. "This argument applies to not only to the U.S. large-cap space, but it also extends to small- and mid-cap segments and international markets."
Dividend stocks - both at home and abroad - with long track records of rock-solid rising payments tend to generate superior returns over long periods of time and can help investors weather shorter periods of market turbulence.
This is a look at the most reliable long-term dividend stocks in the world. Dubbed the "Dividend Aristocrats," they have raised dividends for at least five straight years (Canadian firms), 10 years (E.U.-based firms) or 25 years (U.S. companies). Such stocks provide reliable and rising income streams - and a sense of security that will help you sleep better at night. We've listed them here alphabetically; take a look.
### SEE ALSO: 25 Stocks Every Retiree Should Own

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) stock may have pulled back from recent highs, due to the ever-increasing volatility in the stock market. The astute investor needs only look at the company’s healthy profit, revenue, and gross margins to see that Starbucks stock is still a buy. Starbucks is expanding rapidly in China but if trade tensions keep escalating, a full-on revolt against U.S-based companies could hurt near-term prospects.

Family, football and motorcycling were just as important. When he takes over as Chief Executive Officer of Unilever on Jan. 1, investors are unlikely to see it that way. Jope will succeed Paul Polman, who ran the consumer goods giant for a decade. Although shareholder returns were impressive during his tenure, the Dutch grandee divided investors almost as much as the company’s Marmite brand.

The government requires hedge funds and wealthy investors with over a certain portfolio size to file a report that shows their positions at the end of every quarter. Even though it isn’t the intention, these filings level the playing field for ordinary investors. The latest round of 13F filings disclosed the funds’ positions on September […]

The German food retailer Kaufland on Friday said that it was dropping Unilever (ULVR.L) products from its shelves to protest against price increases. Kaufland, which operates 660 stores in Germany, said that it had tried to reach a solution since May with Unilever but its offers were rejected. Unilever, citing confidential customer relationships, declined to comment.

will retire from the company in May, the consumer-products giant said Thursday. Mr. Weed, 57 years old, has been at Unilever for 35 years. . The company, along with its rivals, faces many challenges, including a shift in consumer tastes.

The chief marketing officer of Unilever (ULVR.L)(UNc.AS) has decided to retire next year, handing incoming CEO Alan Jope his first big hiring decision. CMO Keith Weed, who oversees the marketing strategy of the world's second-biggest advertiser, announced his retirement on Thursday in a series of posts on Twitter. "It's with a happy and heavy heart that I've decided to retire from Unilever in April," Weed said on Twitter.

The chief marketing officer of Unilever (ULVR.L)(UNc.AS) has decided to retire next year, handing incoming CEO Alan Jope his first big hiring decision. CMO Keith Weed, who oversees the marketing strategy of the world's second-biggest advertiser, announced his retirement on Thursday in a series of posts on Twitter. "It's with a happy and heavy heart that I've decided to retire from Unilever in April," Weed said on Twitter.

Unilever boss Paul Polman, quitting months after shareholders scuppered his plan to base company headquarters in the Netherlands, signed off with a typical mixture of advice and philosophy in his last message to investors. The 62-year-old Dutchman, who will be replaced next month by company veteran Alan Jope, is known for his vision of a company with a commitment to sustainability and ethics.

In this series, we’ve discussed the blockchain market’s growth potential and the competition IBM (IBM) is facing in the market. However, IBM is doing pretty well with winning new contracts for its blockchain solutions, namely its newly launched Food Trust Network, which tracks food items in companies’ supply chains. Carrefour, one of the world’s biggest retailers, recently joined the network, and IBM already provides blockchain technology to major retailers Tyson Foods (TSN), Kroger (KR), Unilever (UN), and Walmart (WMT).

Unilever's (ULVR.L) (UNc.AS) incoming chief executive Alan Jope plans to stick to the 2020 targets set by his predecessor Paul Polman, Jope said on Tuesday, confirming a message of continuity set last week by the company chairman. Following last year's unsolicited $143 billion takeover attempt by Kraft-Heinz (KHC.O), the maker of Dove soap and Hellmann's mayonnaise said it would lift its operating margin to 20 percent by 2020, up from 16.4 percent in 2016. Some observers have worried that the margin target could lead to cost cuts in marketing that could hurt long-term sales growth.

Unilever's (ULVR.L) (UNc.AS) incoming chief executive Alan Jope plans to stick to the 2020 targets set by his predecessor Paul Polman, Jope said on Tuesday, confirming a message of continuity set last week by the company chairman. Following last year's unsolicited $143 billion (111.54 billion pounds) takeover attempt by Kraft-Heinz (KHC.O), the maker of Dove soap and Hellmann's mayonnaise said it would lift its operating margin to 20 percent by 2020, up from 16.4 percent in 2016. Unilever announced last week that Jope would succeed Polman.

Unilever (ULVR.L) is to buy GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK.L) Horlicks nutrition business for $3.8 billion (2.98 billion pounds), boosting the Anglo-Dutch group's position in India by adding the popular malted drink. The business has annual sales of around 550 million euros, primarily through the malt-based Horlicks and Boost brands.

Unilever (ULVR.L) is to buy GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK.L) Horlicks nutrition business for $3.8 billion, boosting the Anglo-Dutch group's position in India by adding the popular malted drink. The business has annual sales of around 550 million euros, primarily through the malt-based Horlicks and Boost brands.

Unilever is to buy GlaxoSmithKline's Horlicks nutrition business for $3.8 billion, boosting the Anglo-Dutch group's position in India by adding the popular malted drink. The business has annual sales of around 550 million euros, primarily through the malt-based Horlicks and Boost brands.